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Vol. 87, No. 42 Thursday, March 3, 2011
BUDGET
General Assembly remains gracious to JMU’s funding By JOHN SUTTER The Breeze
JMU administrators reacted with pleasure to the Virginia General Assembly’s recommitment to investing in higher education. As the legislative session came to a close Sunday, the General Assembly approved amendments to the governor’s fiscal year budget, which provides more funding than last year to higher education. Those amendments to the - biennium budget provide JMU with a
little more than $ million in additional general fund support than expected in the - budget and $. million in construction support, or capital funding. The governor presents Virginia’s budget on a two-year cycle and is amended each fiscal year. “The amendments were done for all of higher education,” said Charlie King, senior vice president for administration and finance. “We didn’t put in a specific amendments for enrollment.” The Commonwealth provides funds to JMU from the general fund portion of the state budget.
“Overall we were very pleased with how well we did with the General Assembly this year,” King said. King said JMU received just about all the funding requested, especially regarding operation and maintenance of the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts and the new North Campus, plus some additional funds. The $,, in amendments was added to JMU’s budget because the General Assembly wanted to match and fund many parts of Gov. Bob see FUNDING, page 4
ADDITIONAL STATE FUNDING $6,084,540 for enrollment growth, increase in full-time
faculty, operations of buildings, public-private partnerships, increase in financial aid
$12,575,000 for buildings/construction
1) $3,000,000 for boiler replacement in steam plant 2) $4,675,000 to equip the Biosciences Building 3) $4,900,000 for student health center in North Campus
GRAPHIC BY JENA THIELGES / THE BREEZE
SPORTS SMART
New Math 220 section to teach statistics using sports examples, could appeal to a wider demographic By RYAN PLATT The Breeze
Understanding sports statistics on ESPN could be a little easier after students take a sports-oriented Math section in the fall. Justin Kimmel, professor in the math and statistics department, is the driving force behind starting the class. “A lot of students dread taking statistics,” Kimmel said. He hopes his sports-oriented class will keep students more interested and engaged through the sports examples. Kimmel is pushing to teach several sections of approximately to students each and is hoping that the class will be given the opportunity to expand. Response from students has been
relatively minimal thus far, as it has not been publicized, according to Kimmel. However, he has received some positive feedback, including an e-mail from a student who said he was looking forward to the class. Taylor Cochran, a sophomore biology major, is currently taking Math . Although he said he doesn’t mind the class, he wished the sports-based class had been available. “It’s definitely more interesting, and I’d rather deal with that,” Cochran said. “I know people who think that it’s boring, and this might make it more interesting for them.” David Carothers, the math department head, gave Kimmel control of the project. Opportunities for examples are plentiful, ranging from probability in NBA or NFL drafts to graphical statistical data in football
to box plots using MLB salaries. “I plan on incorporating a whole bunch of sports, depending on which sport fits which topic best,” he said. Sam Berkley, a sophomore biology major, already completed Math . She feels the prospect of a strictly sports-based curriculum was a great idea. Typically, Math professors may use some sports examples, but also include things from fields including medicine and business. “I think it’s definitely going to be much more relatable, and anything more relevant is going to make it so much easier and more fun to learn,” Berkley said. The trial run for the class will determine the future of the sports stats section, according to Kimmel.
Kimmel still has significant paperwork and suggestions to file with the General Education cluster departments before establishing it as its own distinct class. For that to happen, the proposal has to go through several stages. Classes must be first suggested by faculty then approved by the appropriate committee and finally the General Education council, according to Herb Amato, associate dean of university studies. Although it is not its own “course” with its own course number, students will be able to sign up for it by searching for “MATH ” and “Kimmel” on e-campus. Registration for the fall semester begins April . CONTACT Ryan Platt at plattrf@dukes.jmu.edu.
SPEAKER
Taking a critical approach Inspector General for Iraq reconstruction speaks about cutting waste, creating accountability By JOHN SUTTER The Breeze
A government organization that saves more than it costs is something of a rarity in the United States. With a budget of $ million and with more than $ billion in taxpayer dollars saved in the past seven years, in the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction’s office, that type of accountability is not just common practice, it’s the organization’s mission. “We’re a little bit different because we’re looking over a pot of money being handled by the Department of State and the Department of Defense,” said Ginger Cruz, the deputy special inspector general for Iraq Reconstruction, in a lecture Monday afternoon in the Integrated Science and Technology building. In a policy-driven speech geared primarily for international affairs and
3/3 INSIDE
“We’ve built a lot of things but it’s not 50 to 60 billion dollars worth of stuff.”
SUBTERRANEAN << EXCURSION Reporter accompanies caving club on muddy trip, PAGE 7
Ginger Cruz
deputy special inspector general
political science students, Cruz and Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq Reconstruction, talked about the purpose and role of the inspector general in the reconstruction of Iraq and the future of reconstruction projects. “When I was there a rocket had exploded about meters to my left,” said Bowen, who has been on trips to the war-torn country. “It’s a tough place to do stabilization
EBEN KNOWLTON / THE BREEZE
see IRAQ, page 4
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NEWS Drawing the lines
Group of students competes to draw new, effective district lines.
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OPINION Right to choose
Student’s personal experience shapes her opinion of abortion.
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LIFE The cat’s meow
Student blog reins in more than , hits daily.
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SPORTS The ‘Ultimate’ competition
JMU men’s and women’s club Ultimate Frisbee teams host annual tournament.